Monday, January 9, 2012

This is Funny

I know this probably counts as an inside joke, and no non-featured commenters or readers will have any access to it whatsoever, but I really laughed at this heist from RMJ=H in today's Cricket Catch post. That's really, really funny.

11 comments:

I thought it was a weak stab a pink commenter for no reason. All that thread did was give credence to people who think Deadspin commenters are a bunch of high fiving bros. It's not piling on Analysis Rube or something like that, just some poor guy trying to make a joke who was probably wondering why his comment wasn't appearing, so he kept trying to put it up. Pretty bush league shit.

I guess I didn't see it as being especially mean-spirited. When MarkKelsosMigraine stalked that pink commenter across Deadspin, I thought that was mean-spirited. This was potentially embarrassing for the pink commenter, but the joke seemed to be more about how often he'd posted it, not that it was especially weak or anything.

Apparently the commentariat is evenly divided about this - some thought it was in poor taste, others really enjoyed it. I laughed aloud when I read it, and thought it was worth a mention.

The mean spiritedness was in the replies. Had a very "Yeah, we showed that loser!" vibe. The gag, which I've done myself a few times, is funny on its own. Jumping on the way some did just had an unseemly feel to it.

I totally agree that the +1 chain went in the direction of mean-spirited, and there was certainly nothing funny or original in there. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in thinking the original contribution, from RMJ=H, was at least a little bit funny. Apparently we're a very small group.

Thank you for thinking it was funny. I thought it was a bit silly, but not to the extent other folks (including you) thought so.

I still feel like an ass for posting it. I've always tried to do stuff to push the envelope and make a departure from the usual commenting "I haven't seen X since Y." This attempt failed and it pissed some folks off, but I still would encourage others (esp starred folks) to try different things now and again.

Had I been on DU!AN last night I would have posted this there, but will do so here now as this may prove to be the more active thread for discussion.

I wanted to chuck in my two cents on this, both as the only unstarred commenter to reply to the comment and as one of the final comments which, based on the fall out, was likely viewed as mean spirited and/or unnecessary piling on. When I first saw RMJ=H's comment, I sincerely didn't get it (again, unstarred so I can't see the pinkies), nor did I understand why the first few folks replying did as they did. So I googled "awanus" to see if I had missed the joke. I did not. I noticed some fellow DSers on Twitter discussing the joke and I surmised and had confirmed for me the multiple pinkie posting. I immediately found the post - and the replies to it, funny. If people want to find them unfunny, that's fine; different strokes and all. I found them funny.

Now understanding the joke being made, I too replied in a manner I found humorous and a couple of others seemed to as well. My reply was not intended to be mean spirited, nor did I even know the name of the commenter who posted it. I viewed my reply as the type of humor I engage in often with my friends in real life: ball busting. I never called out a commenter by name, nor did I ever question their ability to comment. THAT would be crossing a line, in my opinion. Instead, the passive aggressive ball busting was meant to be just that. I found it funny, as did others, and I have no regrets.

To those who believe that this is an example of DSers being insiders back-slapping each other, I completely agree and get that. Hell, I even posted that very sentiment on twitter just after posting my comment. I know meta humor is frowned upon in the comments, by and large, but I don't agree that it is necessarily a bad thing. There is something to be said about building and having a sense of community amongst the commentariat and inside baseball type of stuff actually can breed some of that. "Yes, but it only builds community if you are already on the inside," you protest correctly. True, but time often takes care of such things. I recall last year Steve_U made a great Pete Gaines joke in a thread which those who have been around DS for a long time loved. If you are a newer reader/commenter, you likely didn't understand the joke. Exclusionary? Not to the older guard. Conversely, an old timer coming back to say hello might not get a Sharting Olive Garden reference (though admittedly his post would itself be funny).

I guess what I am getting at is that the replies, in my opinion, were not and should not be viewed as mean spirited, but rather some good natured ball busting which, in my opinion and life experience, is extraordinarily commonplace amongst men who like and respect each other. If you disagree, that's ok. Feel free to make us laugh in another manner.

I appreciate your input, Achiever. I genuinely thought RMH=J's comment was funny enough to garner a few +1s. I will admit, though, that as the +1 chain grew, I thought it had the feeling of piling on.

That said, I see your point and, in general, think the uproar over the whole thing amounts to a lot of overwrought hand-wringing in an environment where everyone should be laughing or not laughing but leaving the dirty work to the moderators.